Automobile ENGINEERING ORGANIZATION and PROCEDURE

THIS paper presents the results of a survey of the engineering organization and procedure of seven typical automobile manufacturers in the Detroit area made by the authors at the request of the SAE Passenger Car Activity Committee.

Fifteen general conclusions are presented by the authors as a result of their studies of the engineering organization and operating procedure of each of the seven companies. Important among these conclusions are the following:

• Organizations, especially smaller ones, tend to evolve around available men.
• None of the organizations studied is truly represented by its organization chart.
• Design and experimental functions cannot be completely divorced.
• The horizontal type of organization is better for successive continuing programs, such as yearly automobile models; and the vertical type, for non-successive continuing programs.
• The smaller the company, the greater the need for engineering cost control.
• An adequate system of test records is an economy.
• The committee method of reaching decisions on major design questions has many advantages.
• The dual dollar and time budget method of project control seems highly advantageous.
• A full combination of production and engineering might be advantageous.